Monday, July 18, 2016

38 Years of Gestation

Today we leave NZ, flying from Queenstown to Melbourne, Australia, for the next leg. We were fully 1/3 of the sabbatical here, and enjoyed every minute (well, as long as it wasn't that cold winter rain...)

I was reflecting back recently. Why New Zealand? What's the big motivation for so much time spent there? The answer is a little funny.

43 years ago I was a junior in university. That's when I took the required science course--Geology 101 and 102. I put it off because I thought it would be so hard and I would hate it. Wrong! But the textbook we used had all these beautiful illustrations of landforms in it. I'd pore over those for minutes and minutes because they were so gorgeous. And pretty soon a theme emerged--the photos were courtesy of the New Zealand Tourism Bureau--credited in each caption.

So ever since age 19 I've had a bee in my bonnet about seeing NZ. And with Barry's enthusiasm and especially with God's blessings, we've been able to be here. It's at the point that it no longer feels different--but instead it feels just right.

That being said, we're really looking forward to being home again, with all the blessings--especially the people and the work at Christ Church--to look forward to again.